Is Monoglucosyldiacylglycerol a Precursor to Monogalactosyldiacylglycerol in All Cyanobacteria?

In this study, I determined the structure of GlcDG from Anabaena variabilis by 1H- and 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. I then showed that G. violaceus, T. elongatus, A. marina and P. marinus contain GlcDG. In all cases, GlcDG consisted of fewer unsaturated molecular species than MGDG, providing further evidence that GlcDG is a precursor to MGDG. The conversion of GlcDG to MGDG was also demonstrated by radiolabeling and chase experiments in G. violaceus and P. marinus. These results demonstrate that all the analyzed cyanobacteria contain GlcDG, which is converted to MGDG, and suggest that an alternative epimerase is required for MGDG synthesis in these cyanobacteria.

Source: Plant and Cell Physiology - October 8, 2015 Category: Cytology Authors: Sato, N. Tags: Regular Papers Source Type: research